OT plastic kit car

[Ulu]

They often said, “things are on the fritz” if the radar had trouble. (It also applied to the associated computers.)

It was code-talk.

 

They would never actually say anything like “radar trouble” or “computer’s dead”. Such words were never spoken aloud inside. It’s like they always assumed they were being bugged.

I just remember that little, from being inside the blockhouse with my dad in the 1960’s. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, right out of Dr. Strangelove.

 

Anyhow, I finally have my frame rails straight, clean, and painted inside. 95% of that paint should survive TIG welding, when I box the rails. They will get touched up several times, I am sure.

 

 

 

Edited August 16 by Ulu

[Ulu]

I’m still waiting for my frame paint to cure, but I got some more measurements made, and it’s all coming together pretty close.

I had planned for 1/8” clearance from the frame to the fiberglass body. If I can live with 3/16” I’ve got a good alignment.

To get the full 1/8” I need to shorten the tunnel and floor at least another 1/4”

I will possibly bite the bullet and do that. I would also have to trim off the fiberglass body flange a bit.

[Ulu]

Again, I am being delayed by the petty problems of daily life. Not much progress.

 

I did dig out the old master cylinder and clean it up. I have a new one already, but I need to set one up with the pedal assembly, cables, and pushrod, and make absolutely certain it all works, and without hitting the new fuel line etc.

 

Currently, the accelerator is gonna bind on the tunnel. I still need to tune that area up too.

 

I am super-anxious to get on with the welding, and the danger is I will jump the gun. I must make sure.

 

Better to delay and not spoil things than to cut it apart again.

[Ulu]

Yesterday,  I had to change the rollers in my clothes dryer, which were starting to seize and squeak. I also changed the belt and idler.

 

I had all these low-time parts saved from my previous machine, so I didn’t have to go buy parts.

 

This is the 3rd nearly identical Maytag dryer I have had, and the spare parts all came in handy.

I trimmed a bit more on the car chassis and it is nearly acceptable. It’s a pain to trim the tunnel, requiring 3 different grinders and a sawzall. A nibbler trims the floor like magic.

 

 

My paint is cured, so after I tune up the fit a little more, I can start tacking things up.

 

But not this morning. The new rollers for my garage door showed up on the porch.

 

Edited September 21 by Ulu

[Plymouthy Adams]

so can we say.....you are on a roll........!!!!

[Ulu]

Out withe the old and in with the new.

My door hasn’t been this quiet in 20 years.

 

 

 

 

Today I finally achieved alignment on the VW frame assembly. I tuned up the pans some more and now I just need to tune up the weld gap at the tunnel.

 

My last trim was not perfect, & needs just a little hand filing. I want a nice consistent weld from the tunnel to the crossmember. 

 

 

 

Edited September 21 by Ulu

[Ulu]

On 8/20/2024 at 11:45 AM, Plymouthy Adams said:

so can we say.....you are on a roll........!!!!

You gettin’ psychic on us ?

 

I just had to change the rollers in my Maytag dryer too. Also the idler and belt were shot.

 

 

Edited September 21 by Ulu

[Ulu]

Well today is a special day in the boat yard and I’m having a special Shandy to celebrate.

I did a bunch of last-minute grinding and tuning and squaring up. Hours, truly. I cleaned up the pan edges and the flutes as nice as I could get them now.

It was 98°F in the boat yard when I finally put on my leather jacket and gauntlets. I fired up the Primeweld TIG225 and I got the crossmember assembly tacked on. Here it’s on the temp clamps and rail.

I attached it to the tunnel and pan in six places before I stopped. I did not want to weld anything up solid until I was sure it was square.

 

I stopped to check everything with the trammel and level: it came out beautifully. You can see that I took off the clamps and the crossmember and it’s really, finally attached to the tunnel.

 

Yippee! 

I think there will just be a little more pan trimming for me and I can start installing the frame rails.

This is a real milestone in the project. I went from cleaning, fixing and making parts, to the actual assembly work. 

BUT… is it square? Is it level? Oh yeah!

 

 

The crossmember wants 0.9 deg counterclockwise rotation. 


The frame wants 1.2 deg counterclockwise, so she is square within 0.3 deg! 

The tangent of 0.3 is 0.0052 and the crossmember is 13” tall, so it will lean forward about 1/16” at the top: A trifle.

So far, that is. It is still just tack welded. 

I haven’t warped it all up yet. Still, this deserves another shandy.
Cheers!

[Ulu]

I expected to fit & tack up the side rails today, but some things hit me, that of course needed attention first.

I had to flap sand everywhere that I need to weld on the crossmembers and that that took a little while because I had put a considerable amount of paint there.

I also figured out that once I attached the side rails, there was no way I could clean and paint the inside of these tubes.

 

 

I had burnished the outside so nicely, but the insides were still really rusty.

Now they are painted inside for the first time since they were cut, about 1980.

[Ulu]

Well I thought I had this setup licked, but no….I put it all together and it still doesn’t fit.

 

The pan needs more trimming and the crossmember will need to be narrower. I will have to notch it over the rails 1/8” or I will have zero clearance to the plastic body.

Edited August 26 by Ulu

[Plymouthy Adams]

sorry to hear you backing up....but with the metal work you doing a little growth does happen.  Time to slice and dice, assure you this, while added work and not want you want to do, you are not alone....many before have done this and many down the road will be following in your steps.   Then we have many that do nothing and have no clue what you talking about.  

[Ulu]

Well maybe photos will help.

 

I ended up coping off 1/2” this only costs me a little room in the toebox.

It allows my 1x3 boxed channel rails to become 1-3/8” x 3.something

 

I over cut this & it will need filler metal.

 

[Ulu]

I finally got the main chassis all square and straight, and tack welded “everything” together. It’s not really “everything” yet, but I put down over eighty tack welds so far, and a few short beads.

I boxed the frame & I welded in the cutouts where I had to notch the frame rails.

 

I took off all the clamps and wires and the frame is laying loose on the jig, waiting for some floor pan ledgers and  other small bits.

[Ulu]

I got the frame rail cut-outs tacked back in place, and I started some of the real welding. I put another 42 tacks on the frame, and I’m getting better at this out of position stuff.

 

Today I had to buy more steel angle to complete my frame splice & get the floor pan edges secure.

 

I got screwed on the steel, but I got paint half-price.

[Ulu]

I bought some 11ga angle to gird my floor pan, but it is zinc coated.

 

I think this is what’s called in the industry “redi-coat”. The zinc is so thin. Not like G90 or G60 but maybe like G5.

 

I have strong ammonia, ordinary vinegar, phosphoric acid solution, and sand paper. Also electricity. I can’t decide how to strip it yet.

 

There may be some quick & dirty experiments.

[Ulu]

I stripped that angle with hot phosphoric acid solution, and it worked well.  (My wife steadies the plastic tube as it foams over.)

 

I burnished the angles, cut them to length, and fit them in the chassis.

I also cut up some heavy wall tube for the rear frame joints. Pix to come…

[Ulu]

I must tie the new frame rails to the old VW pan and body mounts. Here is my frame joint Mockup & frame connection bits.

 

 

 

 

The orange bit is from heavy tube.

 

I removed the bracket and split the tube. One is a bit long. They will get trimmed past the hole, after welding.

 

I have some heavy stamped side plates to hold that tube. 

 

The part labeled 1/4” plate has to bolt to this body mount hole. This is all still upside down, while some of those photographs have been flipped over.

Edited September 22 by Ulu

[DonaldSmith]

The last photo shows the mad scientist.  No, wait! it's Ulu.  

[Ulu]

Ha ha.

 

Here I am still making parts. These are the closures for the forward frame rails.

[Ulu]

I got six gussets tacked up.
Two are now 90% welded up, but 4 are only 25%.

I’m doing ok with uphill, but I want to roll this frame before the full welding.
I did some more overhead, and it was much better this time. I just needed a few overhead welds, but I had to sit on  the floor inside the jig, looking up at strange angles, bumping my helmet.

 

I kept that to the minimum needed to get things secure enough to flip the frame.

 

Today I welded until I ran low on argon and the wind came up. I’ll have to grind the last one out. I’m not showing that crap weld, but most of the welds came out very well.

 

 

[Ulu]

I have managed to attach all eight floor ledgers, trim them and fit them, and get them all tack welded into place on the rails. Two of them had to get joggles which I made with the vise & a hammer.

 

I also have one side already plug welded to every flute in the floor and I am going to do the other side now.

[Ulu]

My wife inspects the welding.

[Plymouthy Adams]

would that by chance be her side of the car you working right now?

[Ulu]

Yes, and I remember her complaining before, because she could look through a hole in the floorboards and see the road passing under.

[Eneto-55]

On 9/22/2024 at 10:28 AM, Ulu said:

Yes, and I remember her complaining before, because she could look through a hole in the floorboards and see the road passing under.

I was the 'responsible party' for an engine swap for a friend back in 78 - a 64 Ford Fairlane.  It was pretty bad rusted (Rust-Belt car), but it became their only vehicle. His wife was a really good sport - This was in Minnesota, cold winters, etc. She kinda' liked it that she could eat an apple on the way to the college, and didn't need to open a window to get rid of the apple core.  She just lifted the floor mat, and dropped it through.

 

One Sunday night (back in 86) I was out on the main drag in the Aldeota section of Forteleza (Avenida Desembargador Moreira) to flag down a taxi to get to church that evening.  A VW bug (called the Fusca in Brazl) pulled up.  I got in, as he explained that I needed to hold the seat over toward the middle of the car before I could latch the door. The floor was so rotted out along the outside area. (Forteleza is on the Atlantic coast of North East Brazil - so lots of salt in the air.)

Edited September 24 by Eneto-55
grammar correction